Echoes of Life

What Fossil Molecules Reveal about Earth History

Susan M. Gaines, Geoffrey Eglinton, and Jurgen Rullkotter

A panoramic view of biomarker research, linking themes and research in a way that is often not apparent from within an isolated line of inquiry

Echoes of Life

What Fossil Molecules Reveal about Earth History

Susan M. Gaines, Geoffrey Eglinton, and Jurgen Rullkotter

Description

In 1936 a German chemist identified certain organic molecules that he had extracted from ancient rocks and oils as the fossil remains of chlorophyll--presumably from plants that had lived and died millions of years in the past. It was another twenty-five years before this insight was developed and the term "biomarker" coined to describe fossil molecules whose molecular structures could reveal the presence of otherwise elusive organisms and processes.

Echoes of Life is the story of these molecules and how they are illuminating the history of the earth and its life. It is also the story of how a few maverick organic chemists and geologists defied the dictates of their disciplines and--at a time when the natural sciences were fragmenting into ever-more-specialized sub-disciplines--reunited chemistry, biology and geology in a common endeavor. The rare combination of rigorous science and literary style--woven into a historic narrative that moves naturally from the simple to the complex--make Echoes of Life a book to be read for pleasure and contemplation, as well as education.

Echoes of Life

What Fossil Molecules Reveal about Earth History

Susan M. Gaines, Geoffrey Eglinton, and Jurgen Rullkotter

Table of Contents

Fossil Molecules in Geologic Time1. Molecular Informants: a changing perspective of organic chemistry2. Looking to the Rocks: immortal molecules and life's first vestiges3. From the Moon to Mars: the search for extraterrestrial life4. Black Gold: an alchemist's guide to petroleum5. Deep Sea Mud: biomarker clues to climate history6. More Molecules, More Mud and the Isotopic Dimension: ancient environments revealed7. Microbiologists (finally) Climb on Board8. Weird Molecules, Inconceivable Microbes, and Unlikely Proxies: marine ecology revised9. Molecular Paleontology and Biochemical Evolution10. Early Life Revisited11. Thinking Molecularly, Anything Goes: from mummies to oil spills, doubts to new directionsAppendix: Biomarkers at a Glance Glossary Figure List Selected Bibliography Index A Biomarker-centric Tree of Life

Echoes of Life

What Fossil Molecules Reveal about Earth History

Susan M. Gaines, Geoffrey Eglinton, and Jurgen Rullkotter

Author Information

Susan Gaines was trained as a chemist and oceanographer, but abandoned the laboratory to pursue a writer's vocation. Her short fiction has appeared in numerous literary anthologies and been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and she is the author of the novel Carbon Dreams.

Echoes of Life

What Fossil Molecules Reveal about Earth History

Susan M. Gaines, Geoffrey Eglinton, and Jurgen Rullkotter

Reviews and Awards

"An excellent read, very accessible for the academic and enthusiast alike."--The Astrobiology Society of Britain

"Echoes of Life is a book that simply must be read by all interdisciplinary science enthusiasts. The book knits together in a unique way the context and characters of a remarkable field that has spawned and touched so many others. It is a delightfully endearing Who's Who of organic geochemistry; self-deprecating and respectfully irreverent in the way the central characters are linked to the landmark developments. Overall, the book will captivate and inspire the uninitiated, while current practitioners will be enthralled; it is quite simply 'everything you wanted to know about organic geochemistry but were afraid to ask'."--Richard Evershed, Chemistry World

"Echoes of Life: What Fossil Molecules Reveal about Earth History is in many ways a remarkable book. At once a highly readable introduction to the field of organic geochemistry, it also manages to capture the deep sense of curiosity and wonder associated with scientific investigation...Deserves a wide readership, not only by practitioners of the sciences mentioned here but also by historians and philosophers of science who are interested in more than abstractions."-- Bill Green, Chemical & Engineering News

"A festive celebration of why science is fun and of the "rampant human curiosity" that fuels sciene, scientists, and young elephants alike."--Science

"A compelling, readable chronicle of scientific research, that blends the basics of organic chemistry with the needs of other scientific pursuits including geology, paleoclimatology, ocean sciences, petroleum geochemistry, environmental sciences, archeology, and the origin of life. The description of the research is understandable for the layperson and retains sufficient scientific details for scientists." -- John W. Farrington, Scientist Emeritus, and former Senior Scientist, Vice President for Academic Programs and Dean, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

"Echoes of Life provides answers to all the questions that any chemist, or indeed any scientist, could possibly ask about the history of life on Earth. Its authors of this book conduct a forensic analysis of bodies discovered over a period of nearly 80 years to make it read more like a detective story than a text book".-- Colin Pillinger, Head Scientist on Beagle 2, the UK-led project to land on Mars

"Perhaps too late scientists begin to realise how much the living and the material Earth are one. Through the authors' pioneering research we gain glimpses of the character of our planet from childhood to its present seniority. Although a first-rate biogeochemical text, the book features some of the qualities of a family photograph, and is all the more interesting. Life and Earth scientists both should have it on their shelves." --James Lovelock, Honorary Visiting Fellow, Green College, Oxford

"As scientists' descriptions of earth history grow more detailed and more relevant to public policy and economics, laymen are bound to be both curious and suspicious. 'How do they know what the climate was like 200 million years ago, or why petroleum formed in some places and not in others, or what happened to marine life during the last great mass extinction?' Echoes of Life provides clear explanations of the molecular tools used to answer such questions and an engaging narrative of scientific history, skillfully encompassing both the science and the personalities that produced it." -- John Hayes, Scientist Emeritus, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

"Echoes of Life is a fascinating and comprehensive history of biomarker research spanning the birth of the field to the application of biomarkers to a variety of scientific disciplines. Gaines et al. present an enormous amount of information in a simple yet elegant manner. This wonderfully interdisciplinary book is a must read for biomarker experts and for those who enjoy intriguing scientific detective stories." -- Samantha Joye, Professor, Department of Marine Sciences, The University of Georgia

"Echoes of Life is well written and valuable to anyone interested in the intersection between different scientific fields and in learning about the process of scientific discovery. Highly Recommended."--Choice Magazine

"For some, the path taken is a good introductory textbook or review article, but this book is a far more enjoyable read...To someone who has been introduced to biomarkers, the individual chapters stand alone as an interesting biography of a scientific line of inquiry."--Astrobiology

"Those who are interested in geochemistry, and those who are looking to broaden their knowledge of the connections between chemical compounds and the diversity of life, will find Echoes of Life well worth reading. Readers will come away with an understanding of what those compounds mean in a given time and place."--Bioscience